THE AWFUL JOB DONE BY GRAHAM POTTER AT WEST HAM HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY CLEAR IN JUST ONE WEEK UNDER NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO. HAMMERS FANS HAD GROWN SICK AND TIRED OF THE WEAK, PASSIVE, INSIPID PERFORMANCES FROM POTTER’S TEAM.
ALMOST AS MUCH AS THEY HAD REACHED THE END OF THEIR TETHER WITH THE MILD-MANNERED HEAD COACH’S LACK OF PASSION AND OOMPH.
IT HAS TAKEN NUNO ONE WEEK TO SHOW WEST HAM ARE PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF BEING MORE AGGRESSIVE, DEFENSIVELY RESOLUTE, AND ORGANISED. NUNO DOES MORE IN A WEEK AT WEST HAM THAN POTTER DID IN MONTHS.
THE PORTUGUESE HAS ALSO BEEN A BREATH OF FRESH AIR WITH HIS INTERVIEWS, PRESS CONFERENCES, APPROACH, AND TEAM SELECTION. WATCHING POTTER’S TEAM HAD BECOME HELL FOR HAMMERS SUPPORTERS.
THE ENGLISHMAN SOMEHOW MADE WEST HAM WORSE THAN THEY WERE UNDER THE HAPLESS JULEN LOPETEGUI. BUT NUNO CAME IN AND PROMISED HE WOULD MAKE THINGS HELL FOR THE OPPOSITION WHEN HE GETS THE IRONS FIRING.
A HOST OF WEST HAM STARS ARE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING ABOUT NUNO IN THE WAKE OF THE 2-0 DEFEAT TO ARSENAL.
THE GENERAL CONSENSUS AMONG HAMMERS SUPPORTERS IS THAT WEST HAM WOULD HAVE TAKEN A BATTERING BY ARSENAL IF POTTER WAS STILL THE MANAGER. DESPITE OFFERING LITTLE GOING FORWARD, WEST HAM FANS WERE ENCOURAGED BY WHAT THEY SAW FROM THEIR TEAM AFTER THE 1-1 DRAW AT EVERTON IN NUNO’S FIRST GAME IN CHARGE.
POTTER CAME IN AT WEST HAM PROMISING TO GIVE ACADEMY PLAYERS THEIR BIG CHANCE IN THE TEAM. BEYOND A BRIEF SPELL IN THE TEAM FOR OLLIE SCARLES AT THE START OF HIS TENURE, POTTER WENT BACK ON HIS WORD LIKE SO MANY BEFORE HIM.
SCARLES WAS DUMPED, AS WAS FREDDIE POTTS, AFTER SPENDING ALL OF PRE-SEASON STARTING UNDER POTTER. POTTER INSISTED WEST HAM DID NOT NEED TO SIGN ANOTHER STRIKER IN ADDITION TO AGEING CALLUM WILSON — AND THAT IS ALREADY COMING BACK TO BITE THE HAMMERS.
WEST HAM STAR CALLUM MARSHALL AIMS DIG AT POTTER AFTER GETTING HIS CHANCE. DESPITE THE FACT WEST HAM LOOK PAINFULLY SLOW AND IMMOBILE UP FRONT, YOUNG NORTHERN IRELAND STRIKER CALLUM MARSHALL WAS IGNORED BY POTTER TOO, EVEN AFTER IMPRESSING IN PRE-SEASON.
NOW MARSHALL HAS FINALLY BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE HE’S BEEN WAITING FOR — AND HE’S CLEARLY GOT A POINT TO MAKE. THE WEST HAM STAR APPEARED TO AIM A NOT-SO-SUBTLE DIG AT POTTER AFTER BREAKING THROUGH, HINTING AT PAST FRUSTRATIONS AND A DETERMINATION TO PROVE HIMSELF.
NUNO SNUBBED WILSON IN FAVOUR OF MARSHALL WHEN HE WITHDREW THE ABYSMAL FULLKRUG IN THE DEFEAT TO ARSENAL. PLAYING UP FRONT FOR WEST HAM IN THAT GAME WAS A THANKLESS TASK, BUT MARSHALL DID MORE IN HIS BRIGHT CAMEO THAN FULLKRUG HAS MANAGED IN THE LAST TWO GAMES COMBINED.
THE 20-YEAR-OLD LOOKED SHARP, HUNGRY, AND WILLING TO PRESS AS HE TRIED TO MAKE A NUISANCE OF HIMSELF AT THE EMIRATES. MARSHALL EVEN WENT CLOSE TO SCORING WHEN HE GOT ABOVE WILLIAM SALIBA AND GABRIEL TO GET A HEADER OFF.
SPEAKING IN THE WAKE OF HIS PREMIER LEAGUE BOW, MARSHALL MADE A POINT OF SAYING HIS FIRST TASTE OF ACTION IS LONG OVERDUE. HE MADE IT CLEAR HE FELT HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED SOONER, ESPECIALLY HAVING BEEN ON THE BENCH SO OFTEN UNDER POTTER.
IN A FURTHER DIG AT POTTER, MARSHALL ALSO RAVED ABOUT NUNO AND VOWED TO REPAY THE NEW HEAD COACH SO HE GETS MORE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE FUTURE.
